If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Vietnamese sabre, "guom", modified. With grips like these, there's usually a knucklebow. Does the pommel show that a knucklebow was once there? (I can't tell from the photos.) The giant coin is a replacement for the original guard (either a guard with a knucklebow, or a flat plate-shaped guard, possibly round or polygonal). I can't see enough detail on the blade to guess whether it's old or modern. Since the coin is likely to be modern, one shouldn't automatically assume that the rest is old.

Vietnamese sabre, "guom", modified. With grips like these, there's usually a knucklebow. Does the pommel show that a knucklebow was once there? (I can't tell from the photos.) The giant coin is a replacement for the original guard (either a guard with a knucklebow, or a flat plate-shaped guard, possibly round or polygonal). I can't see enough detail on the blade to guess whether it's old or modern. Since the coin is likely to be modern, one shouldn't automatically assume that the rest is old.

I am still thinking about this one, and it still gives me problems. Good catch on the Vietnamese style pommel, but it all feels a bit off. The casting details are very vague and low quality. I tried to see if there were any examples that could match, but genuine antiques have a more crisp look, with identifiable details. Even some Western swords had pommels that were not far off, but with details like a mane that showed they were Western.

Perhaps a good look at the blade would help determine if it is as old as it looks. I keep thinking it looks like it was buried for a couple of years rather than hidden in a barn for a hundred.
Josh

I am confident that this Vietnamese guom is from the 19th C. The cracked hilt is caused by expansion of the wood over time, probably because the wood was a little green when it was attached to the sword. The rest of the sword also appears genuinely old with a good dark patina.

The style of hilt is also older than 20th C and features the typical stylized lion pommel.